Interested in Public Health Nursing...need advice!

[maybaby9]

I am a new RN, and have worked on Med/SUrg for a little over a month. To make a long story short, I'm not very happy, don't like working in the hospital, and feel like I'm pulled in 289328392 directions (I am assigned to 10 patients every shift.) I know I supposedly need med/surg experience to get a public health nursing job...but is this necessarily true? I'm willing to get more schooling/training in order to get a position in PHN. I will try to stick with my current position, but I have a strong desire to educate and be out serving the community. I feel it would really give me a sense of purpose and enjoyment in nursing....something I don't feel at all. Where would I look for such jobs? Knowing that I at least have some options would make me feel at least a little better. I live in Ohio if that helps at all. Thanks for any advice, I'm really feeling lost and discouraged right now.

[MoriahRoseRN]

I just wanted to let you know you are not alone, and I too feel the same way you do, but I am not in med-surg. I really think that is way too many patients to take care of for one person. When I was half way through nursing school I was not very happy about the clinical part but kept going because I thought RN = more opportunities, and my pride kept me going. I thought if I get the RN I might be able to avoid the hospital. There are a lot of nurses with a lot of experience competing for the few non-clinical jobs around where I live.

Have you gone to your local health department to see what openings they might have? I went today and picked up some job postings, and they are not all nursing positions. I was told that some nurses start out in non-nursing positions and move into nursing positions once there are openings. I personally know of one person that is not a nurse, but she volunteered for a couple of hours per week, and within days she was offered a position in her profession. So don't wait for that job to come to you, you go out and get it. Never let them know you are deperate, but do let them know what your passion is. Good luck!

[maybaby9]

thankyou so much for the advice. it's good to know i'm not completely crazy feeling this way!